Scholarly impact of student authorship on surgical research

Munizay Paracha; Ariel E Hirsch; Jennifer F Tseng; David B McAneny; Teviah E Sachs

doi:10.1016/j.amjsurg.2018.07.045

Scholarly impact of student authorship on surgical research

Am J Surg. 2019 Jan;217(1):175-179. doi: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2018.07.045. Epub 2018 Aug 2.

Authors

Munizay Paracha¹, Ariel E Hirsch², Jennifer F Tseng¹, David B McAneny¹, Teviah E Sachs³

Affiliations

¹ Boston University School of Medicine, Department of Surgery, USA.
² Boston University School of Medicine, Department of Radiation Oncology, USA.
³ Boston University School of Medicine, Department of Surgery, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 30086832
DOI: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2018.07.045

Abstract

Background: Student authorship (SA) in research utilizes the H-index (H_i), to measure scholarly impact. We analyzed SA rates over time in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons (JACS).

Methods: We compared H_i of corresponding authors (CA) for articles over time (2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014), comparing those with (SA) and without (nSA) student authors.

Results: SA doubled over time (70-146; P = 0.02) as did first or second SA rates (21-44; P = 0.22). Mean and Median CA H_i were similar independent of SA involvement. The change in H_i for CAs in 2006, 2008 and 2010 to current H_i (2016) was similar for SA and nSA groups (2006: 22.4 vs. 20.7; 2008: 20.2 vs. 20.6; 2010: 19.2 vs. 18.3; all P > 0.05).

Conclusions: The number of SA in JACS publications is increasing, without detriment to CA scholarly advancement. Involving students in surgical research should be encouraged.

MeSH terms

Authorship*
Biomedical Research*
General Surgery / education*
Humans
Students, Medical*